May 232019
- Fernwood Books just published the anthology Dis/Consent: Perspectives on Sexual Consent and Sexual Violence, which includes an essay co-written by Andrea Zanin called “The Bogus BDSM Defence: The Manipulation of Kink as Consent to Assault”. Hopefully this will contribute to the discussion and keep kink from being used to excuse assault, as in the Jian Ghomeshi case from a few years ago.
- Case in point: the trial of Keith Raniere, founder of the “sex cult” NXIVM. A high-ranked member of NXIVM ordered $900 worth of sex toys from Extreme Restraints. “Raniere’s attorney, Marc Agnifolo — who has consistently argued that all sexual activities between his client and female NXIVM followers was consensual — took issue with the prosecution’s classification of the BDSM sex toys as inherently degrading….” Rolling Stone
- Zetsu Nawa on Kinbaku Today writes about the rapid growth of Japanese-style rope bondage in North America and Europe over the past decade.
- Race Bannon explains why gay men aren’t turning out for heterosexual/pansexual kink events. “What turns us on is not democratic and never will be, and gay men typically want to have sex with other gay men in a gay environment.”
- A new documentary covers the life of a pioneer of feminist porn, the late Candice Vadala, better known as “Candida Royalle.”
- Psychology Today asks if BDSM is a leisure activity or a sexual orientation.
- Speaking of, should a K for kink be added to the increasingly-unwieldy LGBTQIAP acronym? MTV thinks so. See the discussion on Quora.
- The Cannes film festival includes Dogs Don’t Wear Pants, a BDSM-themed drama from Finland, directed by J-P Valkeapää. It’s about a grieving widower who stumbles into an encounter with a pro domme.
- King Edward VII’s custom made sex chair. From the Smithsonian via Jezebel.
- NPR’s All Things Considered has a piece on what the vanilla world can learn from BDSM about consent. Podcast & Transcript
